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John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly (28 June 1844 - 10 August 1890) was an Irish-born American poet, journalist, and fiction writer. Life Overview As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia. After escaping to the United States, he became a prominent spokesperson for the Irish community and culture, through his editorship of the Boston newspaper The Pilot, his prolific writing, and his lecture tours.John Boyle O'Reilly, Wikipedia, August 17, 2018, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, Sep. 23, 2018. Youth O'Reilly was born on 28 June 1814, at Dowth Castle on the Boyne, 4 miles from Drogheda. His father was William David O’Reilly, who for 35 years had been master of the national school attached to the Netterville institution for widows and orphans at Dowth Castle. His mother, Eliza Boyle, was the daughter of a Dublin tradesman. The family consisted of 5 daughters and 3 sons.MacDonogh, 248. John received the rudiments of his education from his father. His elder brother, William, was hound as an apprentice compositor in 1854 in the Argus newspaper office in Drogheda, but after 6 months he was obliged to leave on account of ill-health; and in order that the premium of 50l. might not be lost, John, although only 11, was sent to fill his brother's place. The death of the proprietor of the newspaper brought the apprenticeship to an end in 1858. In the autumn of 1859 O'Reilly went to Preston, where his mother's sister lived, and obtained employment as a compositor on the Guardian newspaper, published in that town. Mastering shorthand, he was soon promoted to the position of reporter.MacDonogh, 249. Fenian involvement O'Reilly left Preston for Ireland in March 1863, and in the following May enlisted as a trooper in the 10th hussars — the "Prince of Wales's own" — which stationed in Drogheda at the time. O'Reilly was then in his 19th year. He had previously become a member of the Irish republican brotherhood — the Fenian organisation — and he enlisted in the army as an agent of that association, for the purpose of securing the adhesion of the Irish soldiers to the revolutionary movement. O'Reilly soon established himself as a general favorite in the regiment. "Treasonable songs and ballads," writes Jeffrey Roche in his biography of O'Reilly, "were chanted in the quarters of his troop (D), and spread amongst other companies. With boyish recklessness, O'Reilly embroidered rebel devices on the underside of his saddle-cloth and in the lining of his military overcoat." In 1865, the year in which the government began operations against the Fenians by seizing in September their newspaper, the Irish People, the 10th hussars were quartered at Island Bridge Barracks, Dublin. The work of winning recruits in the army for the revolutionary movement was controlled by John Devoy, afterwards a journalist in New York, who, in the capacity of fenian organiser, passed through as many as 3 regiments. Devoy states that he succeeded in sapping the loyalty of all the regiments of the Dublin garrison in 1865, except the 10th hussars, the men of which were mainly English; but that, thanks to the exertions of O'Reilly, that regiment too became disaffected in due course. "He brought in some eighty men, sworn in," writes Devoy of O'Reilly, "had them divided into two prospective troops, obtained possession of the key of an unused postern gate, and had everything ready to take his men, armed and mounted, out of barracks at a given signal" (Life, Poems, and Speeches of John Boyle O'Reilly, p. 16). Early in 1866 the authorities discovered that the garrisons throughout Ireland were honeycombed with ‘circles’ or lodges of the Irish republican brotherhood, and most of the disaffected Irish regiments were removed from the country. O'Reilly's part in the movement was soon suspected, and he was arrested at Island Bridge Barracks on 13 February 1866. On 27 June 1866, the eve of his 22nd birthday, his trial by court-martial began at the Royal Barracks, Dublin. The charge against the prisoner was "for having in Dublin, in January 1866, come to the knowledge of an intended mutiny in her majesty's forces in Ireland, and not giving information of the said intended mutiny to his commanding officer." After a 12 days' trial O'Reilly was convicted, and on 9 July was sentenced to be shot. This sentence, however, was commuted to 20 years' penal servitude. Transportation and escape In October 1867, after visiting many English convict prisons and making several ineffectual attempts to escape, O'Reilly was transported to Western Australia. Midway through the voyage, O'Reilly and another prisoner John Flood, established a handwritten newspaper called The Wild Goose which contained poetry, stories and anecdotes from members of the ship's convict fraternity. 7 editions were produced; a single copy of the original set survives and is held in the State Library of New South Wales collection. The Hougoumont passage was the last convict ship transport to Western Australia. OReilly was attached to the convict settlement of Bunbury. Owing to his good conduct, he was appointed a constable to aid the officers of the settlement. On 27 December 1868, O'Reilly attempted suicide by cutting the veins of his left arm. After falling into a faint from loss of blood, he was discovered by another convict, and his life was saved.Evans, 128–131. in April 1869 he managed, with the aid of the Roman Catholic pastor, Patrick McCabe, to escape on an American whaler, the Gazelle. O'Reilly spent 7 months on board the whaler, on a cruise in the Indian Ocean, when, meeting with the American barque Sapphire, bound to Liverpool from Bombay, he became a seaman on board, and was thus conveyed to England. In November 1869 he reached the United States. O'Reilly's debut collection of poems, Songs from the Southern Seas (Boston, 1873), is dedicated "to Captain David R. Gifford of the whaling bark Gazelle of New Bedford." In America O'Reilly settled in Boston as a journalist, and became editor and part proprietor of the Pilot, published in that town, an influential Roman catholic and Irish-American newspaper. He took part in the Fenian invasion of Canada, under General John O'Neill, in June 1870. Another Fenian expedition with which O'Reilly was prominently concerned was more successful. This was the rescue of all the military political prisoners — O'Reilly's comrades of 1866 — from the convict settlements of Western Australia in April 1876. The expedition of the American whaler Catalpa (Captain Anthony), which conveyed the prisoners to the United States, was secretly organised by O'Reilly, assisted by John Devoy and John Breslin. It cost $25,000. But O'Reilly was not merely an Irish revolutionist; he was also a man of letters, and he soon filled a distinguished place in the literary society of Boston. He was selected to write odes in commemoration of many national celebrations, such as the reunion of the army of the Potomac at Detroit in June 1885, at which General Grant presided, when he read his poem entitled "America."MacDonough, 250. O'Reilly died on 10 August 1890, at Boston, from an overdose of chloral, administered by himself as a cure for insomnia. On the morning of August 10, around 2-3am, his wife woke up and found O'Reilly sitting in a chair, with one hand resting on the table near a book, and a cigar in the other. O'Reilly was found to be unconscious, His wife sent a servant for the family's physician Dr Litchfield, He spent nearly an hour trying to revive him, but O'Reilly died shortly before 5am. JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY. (Boston Pilot, August 16.) (New Zealand Tablet, 1890-09-26)|last=Zealand|first=National Library of New|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz|language=en|access-date=2017-04-11}} Public announcements attributed O'Reilly's death to heart failure, but the official death register claims "accidental poisoning." He was interred at Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline, Massachusetts. Writing O'Reilly's poetical works are: ‘Songs from the Southern Seas,’ Boston, Massachusetts, 1873; ‘Songs, Legends, and Ballads,’ Boston, 1878; ‘The Statues in the Block, and other Poems,’ 1881; ‘In Bohemia,’ 1886. His poetry as a rule is rugged in form, but shows considerable power. As a novelist, O'Reilly will be remembered as the author of ‘Moondyne,’ a powerful and dramatic story of convict life in Western Australia, which was published at Boston, Massachusetts (1880), and ran through 12 editions. He also wrote, in collaboration with Robert Grant, Frederick J. Stimson, and J.T. Wheelwright, a satirical novel entitled The King's Man: A tale of to-morrow (Boston, 1884). An athlete himself, and a keen lover of sport of all kinds, he prepared a volume entitled Ethics of Boxing and Manly Sports (Boston, Massachusetts, 1888); and also edited The Poetry and Songs of Ireland, New York, 1889. In 1891, the year after his death, a complete edition of his Poems and Speeches was published by his widow, with a "Life" by James Jeffrey Roche, and an introduction by Cardinal Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore. Critical reputation By the late 20th century, most of his early work was dismissed as popular verse, but some of his later, more introspective poetry (such as his best known poem, "The Cry of the Dreamer") is still highly regarded. Recognition The University of Notre Dame, Indiana, conferred on O'Reilly the honorary degree of doctor of laws. *In 1896, a multi-figure bronze sculpture in O'Reilly's honor was created by Chester Daniel French and erected on the Fenway in Boston. *His poem "A White Rose" was included in the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900."A White Rose" , editor, Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900 (edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch), Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919. Bartleby.com, Web, May 6, 2012. *In the early 1900's, Boyle O'Reilly Terrace, an estate built on the north side of Drogheda, was named after him. *In 2002 an interpretative dispay was opened for John Boyle O'Reilly, in Western Australia on the Leschenault Peninsula Conservation Park, from where he escaped to America. http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx?ItemId=121043&page=4. *The John Boyle O' Reilly Club in Springfield, Massachusetts, named for him, celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2005. *In April 2011 The John Boyle O'Reilly Association was established in Netterville, his ancestral home. In popular culture *O'Reilly is said to have been U.S. President John F. Kennedy's favorite poet. *The song "Van Diemen's Land]]" on U2's Rattle and Hum (1988) album refers to and is dedicated to O'Reilly. * The co. Clare folk singer Sean Tyrrell has set a number of O'Reilly's poems to music. A trilogy was included on his 1994 album, Cry of a Dreamer. *Fremantle musician and local historian Brendan Woods wrote The Catalpa, a play about the 1876 escape from Fremantle Prison. It premiered on 15 November 2006 to a sell-out audience at Fremantle Town Hall and ran until 25 November. The play was based on the diaries of Denis Cashman, with the poetry of John Boyle O'Reilly set to music and dance, supported by a 5-part musical ensemble. *Woods also released a 2006 CD entitled: John Boyle O'Reilly & The Fenian Escape from Fremantle Gaol. Publications Poetry *''Songs from the Southern Seas, and other poems. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1873. *Songs, Legends and Ballads. Boston: Pilot, 1878. *The Statues in the Block, and other poems. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1881. *In Bohemia. Boston: Pilot, 1886. *Selected Poems. New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1913. *''The Cry of the Dreamer, and other poems (edited by Peggy O'Reilly & Breeda Tuite). Drogheda, Ireland: 1990. Novels * Moondyne: A story from the under world. Boston: Pilot, 1879. ** An annotated edition of this work is available here. * The KIng's Men: A tale of tomorrow (with Robert Grant, J.S. of Dale, & John T. Wheelwright). New York: Scribner's, 1884.' Non-fiction * Ethics of Boxing and Manly Sport. Boston: Ticknor, 1888. **republished as Athletics and Manly Sport. Boston: Pilot, 1890. Collected editions *''Selections from the writings of John Boyle O'Reilly and Reverend Abram J. Ryan. Chicago: Ainsworth, 1904.Selections from the writings of John Boyle O'Reilly and Reverend Abram J. Ryan (1904), Internet Archive. Web, Nov. 5, 2013. Edited *The Poetry and Song of Ireland. New York: Gay Bros., 1887. Other *''Watchwords from John Boyle O'Reilly. Boston: J.G. Cupples, 1891. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au: John Boyle O'Reilly, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Oct. 19, 2013. See also *List of Irish poets *List of U.S. poets References * * *Ian Kenneally: From The Earth, A Cry: the story of John Boyle O’Reilly (The Collins Press, Ireland) 2011. ISBN 9781848891319 * . Web, Sep. 23, 2018. Notes External links ;Poems * "A White Rose" *John Boyle O'Reilly profile & 2 poems at the Academy of American Poets * O'Reilly, John Boyle (1844-1890) (4 poems) at Representative Poetry Online *"John Boyle O'Reilly at Poets' Corner * John Boyle O'Reilly at PoemHunter (150 poems) *John Boyle O'Reilly at Poetry Nook (152 poems) ;Books *Works of John Boyle O'Reilly at Internet Archive ;About *O'Reilly, John Boyle in the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]] * John Boyle O'Reilly in the Catholic Encyclopedia. *O'Reailly, John Boyle (1844-1890) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography O'Reilly, John Boyle Category:1844 births Category:1890 deaths Category:10th Royal Hussars soldiers Category:Convicts transported to Western Australia Category:Escapees from British detention Category:Irish escapees Category:People from County Louth Category:19th-century Irish people Category:Irish soldiers Category:Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Category:People from Drogheda Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American writers Category:Irish writers Category:Irish poets Category:19th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets